Nato names US Gen John Allen as new supreme commanderHe will be replaced as US commander of international forces in Afghanistan by Joseph Dunford, who is currently US Marine Corps deputy commander.

Gen Allen has led the Nato campaign in Afghanistan since July 2011.

He was nominated for the new Nato role by US President Barack Obama and is expected to begin work in spring 2013, pending approval by the US Senate.

Gen Allen played a key role in countering the Iraq insurgency between 2006 and 2008. He then oversaw a surge in US troops in Afghanistan in battling the Taliban.

In Afghanistan, Gen Allen commanded coalition troops from 50 different countries, which commentators say gives him the experience to deal with the often sensitive and conflicting wishes of Nato's 28 member states and 22 partners.

Some 68,000 US troops currently make up the majority of the 100,000-strong coalition force.

The Afghan army is taking on increasing responsibility for security ahead of the end of Nato's combat mission in 2014.

Moscow plans to halt its participation in the Nunn-Lugar Program, in which the US funds Russia’s dismantling of its arsenal of nuclear weapons, a Russian media outlet reported.

Russia no longer requires US aid and can continue with the program unassisted, Kommersant daily newspaper reported. In addition, Moscow explained the decision by the necessity to prevent secret data leak.

The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program was launched in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and aimed to dismantle unneeded nuclear weapons in Russia’s arsenal and eliminate outdated biological and chemical weapons.

The agreement was extended twice – in 1999 and 2006 – and expires in May 2013. Sources in Pentagon and the State Department told Kommersant that the US hopes to extend the program again.

The United States military has secretly sent a task force of more than 150 planners and other specialists to Jordan

To help the armed forces there handle a flood of Syrian refugees, prepare for the possibility that Syria will lose control of its chemical weapons and be positioned should the turmoil in Syria expand into a wider conflict.

The task force, which has been led by a senior American officer, is based at a Jordanian military training center built into an old rock quarry north of Amman. It is now largely focused on helping Jordanians handle the estimated 180,000 Syrian refugees who have crossed the border and are severely straining the country’s resources.

American officials familiar with the operation said the mission also includes drawing up plans to try to insulate Jordan, an important American ally in the region, from the upheaval in Syria and to avoid the kind of clashes now occurring along the border of Syria and Turkey.

The officials said the idea of establishing a buffer zone between Syria and Jordan — which would be enforced by Jordanian forces on the Syrian side of the border and supported politically and perhaps logistically by the United States — had been discussed. But at this point the buffer is only a contingency.

The United States military has secretly sent a task force of more than 150 planners and other specialists to Jordan

To help the armed forces there handle a flood of Syrian refugees, prepare for the possibility that Syria will lose control of its chemical weapons and be positioned should the turmoil in Syria expand into a wider conflict.

The task force, which has been led by a senior American officer, is based at a Jordanian military training center built into an old rock quarry north of Amman. It is now largely focused on helping Jordanians handle the estimated 180,000 Syrian refugees who have crossed the border and are severely straining the country’s resources.

American officials familiar with the operation said the mission also includes drawing up plans to try to insulate Jordan, an important American ally in the region, from the upheaval in Syria and to avoid the kind of clashes now occurring along the border of Syria and Turkey.

The officials said the idea of establishing a buffer zone between Syria and Jordan — which would be enforced by Jordanian forces on the Syrian side of the border and supported politically and perhaps logistically by the United States — had been discussed. But at this point the buffer is only a contingency.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the comments at a press conference on Wednesday.

He warned that any use of force against Tehran would put and end to all negotiations on Iran’s nuclear energy program.

Lavrov noted that the main objective is now to focus on the mediation of the P5+1 group to become operational, adding that deputy foreign ministers of the six member countries of the group are preparing for another round of talks with Iran.

The foreign minister pointed out that any arbitrary interpretation of the UN Charter’s important principles is a threat to the world order.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili and EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, who represents the P5+1 group -- comprising the US, the UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany--, met in a follow-up to their previous negotiations on Iran’s nuclear energy program on September 18 in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

NATO Commends Turkish “Restraint in Response to Syria Attacks”NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned Tuesday against the dangers of the conflict in Syria escalating, saying alliance member Turkey had shown commendable restraint in response to shelling of its border area.NATO SG

"I would like to commend the Turkish government for the restraint it has shown in its response to the completely unacceptable Syrian attacks," Rasmussen said as he went into a two-day NATO defense ministers meeting.

"Obviously Turkey has a right to defend herself within international law," he said, noting that the alliance too has "all necessary plans in place to protect and to defend Turkey if necessary."We hope it won't be necessary, we hope that both countries will show restraint and avoid an escalation of the crisis," he added.

Reports in Ankara Tuesday said Turkey's top military commander General Necdet Ozel had inspected troops in southeastern Hatay province near the Syrian border, a day after a Syrian shell landed in a nearby town.

This is all propaganda. There is so much noise and 1/2 truths out there it is now next to impossible to tell what is really going on.

I always have to go back to Terrence Mckenna and what he said about 2012 and the nature of time(being fractal) and what would be happening during these times. Time is speeding up so fast that it is impossible for most people to comprehend it and what is truly going on.

I have noticed the increased solar activity is affecting many people including myself. They seem agitated and bewildered and don't know why. It just seems like everything is playing out in all directions. The best thing to do is be aware of it all and try to stay centered and aware.

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has confirmed that US troops have been dispatched to the Jordan-Syrian border to help bolster the former’s military capabilities in case violence escalates in the volatile region.

"We have a group of our forces there working to help build a headquarters there and to insure that we make the relationship between the United States and Jordan a strong one so that we can deal with all the possible consequences of what's happening in Syria," Panetta said.

Panetta’s comments came during a NATO conference of defense ministers in Brussels, where he said the US had been working with Jordan to monitor chemical and biological weapons sites in Syria and help the country deal with Syrian refugees crossing over the border.

The US has previously used Jordan as a base for other Syria-related military activities. In May of this year, Washington held military drills in Jordan dubbed ‘Operation Eager Lion,’ which saw around 12,000 troops from several nations participate in undisclosed training exercises.

41He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon(Modern Jordan). 42“Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. 43“But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels. 44“But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many. 45“He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him. --Daniel 11:41-45

i'm glad, as a citizen of the united states, i look forward to watching my country put down another dictatorship. 1776-2776, if you think you can change that timeline, by all means COME AND TAKE THEM :).

The United States military has secretly sent a task force of more than 150 planners and other specialists to Jordan

To help the armed forces there handle a flood of Syrian refugees, prepare for the possibility that Syria will lose control of its chemical weapons and be positioned should the turmoil in Syria expand into a wider conflict.

The task force, which has been led by a senior American officer, is based at a Jordanian military training center built into an old rock quarry north of Amman. It is now largely focused on helping Jordanians handle the estimated 180,000 Syrian refugees who have crossed the border and are severely straining the country’s resources.

American officials familiar with the operation said the mission also includes drawing up plans to try to insulate Jordan, an important American ally in the region, from the upheaval in Syria and to avoid the kind of clashes now occurring along the border of Syria and Turkey.

The officials said the idea of establishing a buffer zone between Syria and Jordan — which would be enforced by Jordanian forces on the Syrian side of the border and supported politically and perhaps logistically by the United States — had been discussed. But at this point the buffer is only a contingency.

Turkish F16s intercept Syrian civilian flight from Moscow to DamascusA Syrian passenger plane which was forced to land sits at Esenboga airport in Ankara October 10, 2012. (Reuters/Cem Oksuz/Anadolu Agency)

Turkish F16 fighter jets forced a Syrian airline passenger plane to land in Ankara over suspicions it was carrying "non-civilian" cargo, says the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The Damascus-bound plane, which had departed from Moscow, is being inspected.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says Ankara received intelligence that the Syrian plane was carrying "certain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules", but refused to comment on the presumed content.

Earlier, Turkish media speculated that the plane was diverted on suspicions that it might be transporting heavy weapons.

The plane was forced to land in Ankara’s international airport at 5:15 pm local time (3:15 pm GMT). The Airbus A-320 was carrying around 30 passengers.

The Free Syrian Army, the “rebel” mercenary group supported and trained by the CIA and MI6, has vowed to expand operations into Lebanon and attack Hezbollah, the paramilitary and political organization established in 1982 to resist the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

On Tuesday, Fahd al-Masri, who is affiliated with the Free Syrian Army Joint Command, told the London-based daily newspaper Ash-Sharq-al-Awsat that the FSA will expand the proxy war in Syria to “the heart” of Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold.

The FSA claims to hold 13 members of Hezbollah captive in the Syrian city of Homs. In August, the United States accused Hezbollah of “deep involvement” in the al-Assad regime attempt to combat FSA attacks inside the country.

The accusations are part of a coordinated effort by the Treasury and State Departments to impose sanctions on Syria. The U.S. claims Hezbollah is working in tandem with operatives of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, according to the New York Times.

The Future Movement bloc of former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has declared that Hezbollah has signed on to the “Baabda Declaration,” which vows to keep Lebanon out of the conflict in Syria.

Despite Lebanon’s neutrality, the FSA attacked a Lebanese Army post near the northern border with Syria in September.

Turkey's army on high state of readiness, first step for Syria no-fly zone

War tensions over Syria continued to spiral early Thursday, Oct. 11, when Turkey’s armed forces were placed on a state of readiness and its chief of staff pledged stronger response to any hostile act by Syria, A high-placed US source confirmed to debkafile that Turkey had, by forcing a Syrian civilian Airbus A320 plane en route from Moscow to Damascus to land in Ankara and declaring Syrian airspace “unsafe,” taken the first step toward creating a no-fly zone over Syria.

No Weapons On board Syria's Aircraft !Neither weapons nor any system or components of military equipment were on board or could have been, says a source within the Russian state arms export agency.

Turkish jets forced Wednesday a Syrian passenger plane from Moscow to land at the airport of Ankara. A suspicious cargo was found and seized. To check if the device continues to Damascus.

Piracy

Following the forced landing, the Syrian Minister of Transportation accused Turkey of Thursday ''air piracy''

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires a statement by the Turkish government about the incident with the Airbus, reports Reuters

The Russian government complains about the Turks that Russian diplomats were on board and that turks or any other country are actually not allowed to access the Russian diplomatic passengers without permission according to international Law.